Intestinal Ischemia

Despite more than 30 years of experience in vascular surgery, the mortality from intestinal ischemia remains extraordinarily high. Ischemic gut generally affects the elderly and has a variety of clinical appearances and multiple causes. The clinician is handicapped by nonspecific findings and the lack of a reliable diagnostic test. Even the confident surgeon who advises immediate operation may struggle to determine the viability of the involved bowel.

Based on extensive experimental and clinical experience, Dr Cooperman and his colleagues at Ohio State University, Columbus have assembled a series of essays on the salient features of ischemic diseases of the bowel. These 20 chapters are easy to read, well illustrated, and logically arranged. Vascular anatomy and pathology and the pathophysiology of ischemic bowel serve as the introductory chapters. The role and limitations of diagnostic laboratory and roentgenographic techniques follow. A chapter on preoperative preparation emphasizes basic tenets of resuscitation. An excellent